Dan Morton
A Fixture
A line of mostly blinded mustard gas casualties of the 55th Lancaster Division was photographed on April 10, 1918 by a photographer for one of the Entente illustrated newspapers. Was this where J. W. Sargent got the idea for his famous and massive painting, "Gassed"? Don't know. There are some similarities.
In any case, this photo really got to me the first time I saw it several years ago and I've always meant to do several figures based on it. The scale is my usual 1/16th size. The media is a mix of Magic Sculpt and Kneadatite. The heads, some of the boots and some of the equipment have come from various kits.
I've assigned numbers to the wounded soldiers in the photo beginning from the left - Zero is the first NCO shown, wearing a helmet and leading the blinded men; One is the next and going down the line, etc. At this point, I've completed Zero and One and 95% of Five. Five is the shorter, somewhat pudgie fella. I haven't finished Five's hand, which will need to be laid on Four's shoulder. Two, Three and Four will probably come next, slowly.... I plan on maybe 7 or 8 figures in all. Not sure...
I'm taking a few "liberties" with the figures. We can only see one side of the wounded men and the photo is either under-exposed or pretty dark. It was November and maybe it was taken on an overcast day?
Some uniform details can't be seen in the photo, so I'm adding what I think best. Of course the 55th Lancs shoulder patch - a red Lancaster rose with green leaves and vine on a drab circle. Some wound stripes where appropriate, some overseas service chevrons, etc. Gas mask bag tags, casualty tags on the chest of each one.
I've added several bandages, maybe from shrapnel wounds, to Zero and he's meant to be hobbling along with a cane.
I've added a piece of cloth covering the face of One and a handkerchief to Five. Notice that all the wounded have their faces averted from the light. Mustard gas wounds are serious and painful and if the mustard vapor or liquid has blinded them, exposure to sunlight is excruciating.
I've made Five a member of the ASC or Army Service Corps, not 55th Lancs. The ASC wore a brass shoulder title on their epaulette. I can see some kind of metal title on another casualty's epaulette, so possibly another one will also be ASC. ASC performed logistics and transport services, drove trucks and wagons, things like that.
I'm trying to give each figure a little bit of personality and individuality, without being maudlin or emotional.
Two friends are helping with the project - Pat Student will be photographing the vignette and Charlie Duckworth will be painting them. I've actually turned over zero and one yesterday to Charlie because he was eager to get going. Cheers gentlemen! It wouldn't get done without ya!!
Hope you like it!
All the best,
Dan
In any case, this photo really got to me the first time I saw it several years ago and I've always meant to do several figures based on it. The scale is my usual 1/16th size. The media is a mix of Magic Sculpt and Kneadatite. The heads, some of the boots and some of the equipment have come from various kits.
I've assigned numbers to the wounded soldiers in the photo beginning from the left - Zero is the first NCO shown, wearing a helmet and leading the blinded men; One is the next and going down the line, etc. At this point, I've completed Zero and One and 95% of Five. Five is the shorter, somewhat pudgie fella. I haven't finished Five's hand, which will need to be laid on Four's shoulder. Two, Three and Four will probably come next, slowly.... I plan on maybe 7 or 8 figures in all. Not sure...
I'm taking a few "liberties" with the figures. We can only see one side of the wounded men and the photo is either under-exposed or pretty dark. It was November and maybe it was taken on an overcast day?
Some uniform details can't be seen in the photo, so I'm adding what I think best. Of course the 55th Lancs shoulder patch - a red Lancaster rose with green leaves and vine on a drab circle. Some wound stripes where appropriate, some overseas service chevrons, etc. Gas mask bag tags, casualty tags on the chest of each one.
I've added several bandages, maybe from shrapnel wounds, to Zero and he's meant to be hobbling along with a cane.
I've added a piece of cloth covering the face of One and a handkerchief to Five. Notice that all the wounded have their faces averted from the light. Mustard gas wounds are serious and painful and if the mustard vapor or liquid has blinded them, exposure to sunlight is excruciating.
I've made Five a member of the ASC or Army Service Corps, not 55th Lancs. The ASC wore a brass shoulder title on their epaulette. I can see some kind of metal title on another casualty's epaulette, so possibly another one will also be ASC. ASC performed logistics and transport services, drove trucks and wagons, things like that.
I'm trying to give each figure a little bit of personality and individuality, without being maudlin or emotional.
Two friends are helping with the project - Pat Student will be photographing the vignette and Charlie Duckworth will be painting them. I've actually turned over zero and one yesterday to Charlie because he was eager to get going. Cheers gentlemen! It wouldn't get done without ya!!
Hope you like it!
All the best,
Dan
Great back story 
